Birthday Cakes Work Magic
by You've Got Wings Baby
Summary: My take on how Luke and Lorelai become friends. Lorelai has lived in Stars Hollow for a year now. She is 25, and Rory is 8, almost 9. Will be Javajunkie later on. Come read and review!
1. Even a danish

My take on how Luke and Lorelai become friends. Lorelai has lived in Stars Hollow for a year now. She is 25, and Rory is 8, almost 9. Come read and review!

Even a Danish

"Hey, Duke," Lorelai said, entering the diner with her normal swagger, Rory in hand. It was a beautiful October morning, and nothing could make that day better to Lorelai than annoying Luke.

"I said, stop calling me that. My name is not Duke," Luke said, immediately aggravated by Lorelai's presence. However, he couldn't stay mad for long, once he saw Rory's little face.

"Oh, it's not? Sorry, Duke. I'll try to remember, Duke," Lorelai replied, knowing full well that this was no way to treat the owner of the fine establishment they were dining in if she wanted her coffee fix.

"Ugh! I give up on you!" Luke said, slamming his hands down on the counter.

"Mom, why don't you just call him Luke? It would make our visits to this place a lot more pleasant," little Rory whispered, as they sat down at the counter. Lorelai was always amazed at what her 8, almost 9-year-old daughter said. She always sounded so wise, and well beyond her years.

"Oh, but it is pleasant, sweets. Coming here and making Duke rip his hair out is the highlight of my day."

"Hey Luke! Guess what! My birthday party is this Saturday. You should come," Rory said, completely ignoring her mother's last comment.

Luke couldn't help but smile at the sweetness of this little girl. "I'm sorry, kid. I really can't. I've gotta go help my sister out with a little bit of trouble she's in."

"Oh. I understand. It's okay," Rory replied, looking down with a tiny frown on her face.

"Now look what you've done, Duke! You made my little girl cry," Lorelai said. Her daughter always created the perfect opportunities for her to make Luke cringe.

"I'm not crying!"

"Yeah, she's not crying. Tell you what, Rory. The next time you come in here, you can have whatever you want, on the house. I'll even put a candle in it." Luke said, in an attempt to redeem himself.

"Even a danish if it's not Danish Day?" Rory was suddenly very happy.

"Even a danish."

"Ok!"

"Hey, Duke! How about a round of coffee?"

"This stuff is going to kill you. You'll have a heart attack one day when you're home and Rory'll be at school so no one will be there to call 9-11 so you'll die of caffeine overdose."

"How very morbid of you."

"How very realistic of me."

"Hey! Don't talk about my mom like that!" Rory knew the drill. Whenever Luke was withholding the precious elixir of life that is coffee, Rory would pretend to be very protective of her mother and yell at Luke, making him feel bad that he hurt her feelings, resulting in as many cups of coffee Lorelai can down. Rory was always rewarded with a kit-kat later in the day. It was a win-win scenario.

"Fine. You can have your coffee." Luke said, defeated. Lorelai and Rory both giggled.

"To-go cup, please?"

"Here. Enjoy your death juice."

"Bye, Duke!"


	2. No Cake

Chapter 2 – No Cake

"Hey, Duke! I thought you had to go help your sister?" Lorelai said in the most condescending voice she could create as she walked into the diner with her best friend, Sookie.

"I don't leave 'til 3. Coffee?" Luke said, not even looking up from where he stood.

"You're offering?"

"No, I'm trying to avoid confrontation with you today. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

"What a coincidence. I'm not in the mood to deal with you either. Two cups of coffee to table 4, please."

"That's table 2."

"Oh well, it's all the same in the end."

"No, it's not. If I brought coffee to table 4, then… never mind. I know better than to try. Hey Sookie," Luke said, just noticing her bright, funny face.

"Hey Luke."

"Ok, Duke, you can go away now. My friend and I have something we need to talk about, in private."

"Gee, aren't we little miss attitude today."

"I'm just a bit stressed today."

"Isn't today Rory's party?"

"Exactly. Remember the privacy?"

"Sorry. I'm gone." With that, Luke walked back behind the counter to give Sookie her privacy. Lorelai's privacy didn't quite matter; it just so happened that hers came with Sookie's.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about, Lor?" Sookie asked, concerned. It wasn't often that her friend asked her to come to Luke's of all places because they 'need to talk.'

"I have a little problem. A big one, actually."

"What is it?"

"You know how I've been saving up money for this party for the last 6 months so I could afford everything?"

"Yeah."

"Well, until yesterday, I had plenty of money to pay for everything and get Rory her birthday present. Then the electric bill came."

"Oh no. How much do you have left?"

"Not much."

"How much is not much?"

"30 dollars."

"Oh, well, that should be plenty for cups and pop and a small cake."

"I still need to buy Rory's present."

"Oh. Well, I think I might have some leftover party cups somewhere at my house, so that should leave you enough to buy pop, and, well, no cake."

"See, I was thinking you could make the cake."

"Oh. I don't have anything to make it, and money's been tight lately. I'm really sorry." And she was really sorry. She felt horrible that she couldn't help Lorelai, especially since it was for Rory.

"That's ok, Sook. We just won't have a cake." Lorelai tried to sound like she was okay with it, but it didn't work. "Luke, can I get another cup of coffee to go?"

"Sure." Luke wasn't going to argue. He overheard their entire conversation. He felt terrible that Rory wasn't going to have a birthday cake. As he handed Lorelai her cup of coffee, and watched her follow Sookie out the door, he knew exactly what he was going to do.


	3. Stars Hollow's Super Hero

Chapter 3 – Stars Hollow's Super Hero

Later that day, Lorelai did everything she could to make sure everything would be as perfect as possible for Rory's birthday party since there would be no cake. She hung decorations all over the house in Rory's favorite colors, and made everything sparkly and pretty just for her daughter. She pulled out all the party music and games and adorned Rory's head with the same famous "Birthday Girl" crown that she wore every year. Lorelai knew this was going to be a great party, cake or no cake.

"I know exactly what I'm going to wish for when I blow out my birthday candles!" Rory gleefully said, as she scurried about the living room in the new pink party dress her mother had made for her a few weeks ago.

Lorelai didn't know what to say. What would Rory do when she found out there would be no cake? Should she tell her now? Or let her know during the party? No, that wouldn't work. She didn't want to make a scene and embarrass herself in front of all her Stars Hollow friends. She had to tell her now.

"Rory, I need to talk to you about something." Lorelai said, as she pulled Rory over to sit on the couch with her.

"Ok, what is it?"

"It's about your birthday cake."

"Right. Is Sookie making it or are we getting it from Weston's? Wherever you're getting it from, I want it to be half chocolate and half vanilla with strawberry frosting."

This was breaking Lorelai's heart. She was dreading the look that would be on Rory's face after she told her the news. She was, however, glad to hear that her taste in foods had been passed on to the next generation of Gilmore's.

"Rory, there's not going to be a cake."

"There's not?" Rory was confused. She wondered how they could have a birthday party with no birthday cake, especially when her mother was such a big fan of the dessert.

"No, there's not. We just couldn't afford it this year. But I promise next year you'll have an even bigger and better cake than you would have had this year. I'm so sorry, sweets."

"It's okay. I understand. Can I still make my birthday wish?" Lorelai was amazed at how understanding her daughter could be at such a young age.

"Of course you can. What is it?"

"I wish-"

"No wait, I have an idea." Lorelai stood up, walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Rory, opened a drawer, and took out a small candle from birthdays passed, and lit it. She bent down and held it in front of Rory and said, "Ok. Now make your wish."

"I wish you would stop calling Luke Duke," and she blew out the candle with all her might.

"Haha, that's a good wish." Just then, they heard something at the door. It wasn't a knock, but more like a shuffling. Lorelai dropped the blown out candle onto the kitchen table and followed Rory to the living room window.

"Who's out there?" Rory asked.

"I don't know. I don't see anyone." Lorelai walked over to the front door. She opened it slowly and looked outside. There was no one there except Mother Nature's wind blowing softly in her face. Rory had suddenly appeared right behind her.

"Look at this," Rory pointed to a large white box sitting before their feet. "I wonder what it is."

"It says 'Happy Birthday' on it. It's probably a gift. Why don't we bring it inside and open it up?"

"Ok!"

Lorelai picked up the mysterious box and carefully brought it into the living room and set it down on the coffee table. "Tear her open."

Rory swiftly lifted the lid to the box, and both she and Lorelai gasped at what lie inside. It was the most beautiful birthday cake they had ever seen. It was pink (obviously symbolizing the deliciously created strawberry frosting) with the words "Happy 9th Birthday, Rory" written neatly on top in green letters. There were pretty yellow daisies decorating the top and sides. It was simply a miracle.

"Wow, look, Mom! It's a birthday cake. I thought you said we weren't going to have one this year?"

"I thought we weren't." Lorelai said, astonished by what was happening.

"Who is it from?"

"I have no idea. There isn't a card or anything on it."

"It's like a Nancy Drew mystery!" Rory said happily. She had just finished the last book of the Nancy Drew series and was moving on to bigger, better books.

"Exactly." Lorelai said. She was so happy that her little girl would have her cake for her birthday. She couldn't help but wonder who on Earth it could be from. It couldn't be from Sookie. She said she was low on money, and if she had made the cake, it would be much more extravagant than the cake that lay before her. Surely it wouldn't be from her parents. They didn't even know about the party. Then she began to think… Could it be from- wait. There was no way. She pushed the thought out of her mind and completed her decorating.

The party went over spectacularly. There was word spreading through the entire affair about how delicious the cake was. Everyone kept asking who the person was that made the heavenly creation, but no one knew. They might have assumed that Lorelai made it herself, but they all knew better than that. If she had attempted to make it, there wouldn't be a kitchen for them to gather around in to watch Rory open her presents. One by one, each present was carefully opened. There was a new tutu from Miss Patty, a pink garden gnome from Babette, and a brand new copy of 'The Rules and Regulations of the Town of Stars Hollow' from Taylor. That one was probably meant more for Lorelai to see. He was going to get her to stop throwing her gum wrappers on the ground in front of his market no matter what it took. She loved each and every present from each and every person. As the night wound down, and Lorelai and Rory hugged and kissed everyone goodbye, they both agreed. The party was a huge success.

The next morning, Lorelai and Rory walked into Luke's, as usual. They sat down at a table and waited to be served, as Luke was no where to be seen.

"Look, Mom, Luke finally changed the special," Rory said.

Lorelai glanced up to the neatly written chalk board, which now read "Special: Blueberry Pancakes and Hash Browns". Suddenly, she realized that the handwriting looked very familiar. She racked her brain trying to figure out where she's seen it before. Then it dawned on her. The writing on the chalk board matched the writing she saw on the cake box the day before. Luke had made the cake. He had been listening to her and Sookie's conversation the other day, and had made a cake for her daughter's ninth birthday.

Just then, Luke walked out of the kitchen and towards their table with his order pad in hand.

Lorelai smiled from ear to ear at him, and said, "Hey, Luke."

The (Possible) End.

Is there another chapter? You tell me. Review!


	4. Question for the Readers

Question for the Readers.

Hi! First of all, thanks for reading the story, and thanks for all the wonderful reviews. They are greatly appreciated!

Chapter 3 was supposed to be the last chapter in the story, but I'd be willing to continue if persuaded! It would be a Java-junkie-luke-and-lorelai-get-together type story if I did continue. So, if you want me to continue, send me a review saying I should!

Thanks,

Stella


	5. Temptations

Wow, ok, first of all, thank you so much for all the reviews! I had posted that one night, gone to bed, and gotten up the next morning to find 13 reviews, already! I think this means I have to continue… So I will!

Here's chapter 4. Not much is going to happen in this chapter, since I wasn't planning on continuing and I don't know where I'm going with this story. I already have a few plot twists in mind, but the only problem is I don't have a plot to twist. So, I'm just gonna wing it right now to keep you hooked on the story.

Chapter 4 – Temptations

_Luke had made the cake. He had been listening to her and Sookie's conversation the other day, and had made a cake for her daughter's ninth birthday._

_Just then, Luke walked out of the kitchen and towards their table with his order pad in hand._

_Lorelai smiled from ear to ear at him, and said, "Hey, Luke."_

"Hey, Lorelai." Luke said, not noticing her sudden change in attitude towards him.

"Mom, did you just call him Luke?"

"Yes, I did."

"You did?" Luke said, in sudden realization.

"I did." Lorelai said, matter of factly.

"You did?" Luke said, not able to believe it himself. He wasn't sure what had caused this sudden change in Lorelai, but he had a suspicion that she knew about the cake. But how did she know? He couldn't figure it out.

"I did. Luke, can I talk to you in private?" Oh yeah, he was sure. She definitely knew.

"Why?"

"If I told you right here, right now, I wouldn't need to do it in private, would I?"

"Ok, follow me." Luke said, as he led her up to his apartment.

"Why can't we just go in the storeroom?"

"You're not insured to be in the storeroom. If a bag of potatoes falls on your head, the insurance company won't care," Luke said, as he opened the door to his apartment and led Lorelai inside.

"Right, that makes perfect sense. How many times has a bag of potatoes fallen on your head?"

"None, but I'm just saying, it's too risky."

"Oh, I bet the insurance companies love you," Lorelai said as she giggled through her teeth.

"Uh, do you want to sit down?" Luke said, nervously. He wasn't sure why, but he was uneasy about having a woman in his apartment.

"Sure." They sat on the couch together. Loreai faced Luke, and Luke faced Lorelai. Neither of them said a word. Complete silence filled the room.

Luke was the first to break the silence. "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, right. I just wanted to say, well, um…" She didn't know why it was so hard to say thank you to this man, but it had to be done. "I just wanted to say thanks."

"Thanks for what?" He knew, but he wanted to make sure.

"For the cake. I know you made it. You have no idea how much it meant to Rory, and to me." Lorelai said, a little faster than necessary.

"Cake? I didn't make a cake." Why did I say that?

"Yes you did. I know you did. You wrote 'Happy Birthday' on the front in the same handwriting as what's on the specials board downstairs. And, you're the only other one besides Sookie who could've known that I didn't have one. You made it. Just admit it."

"You're welcome. But just to set the record straight, I did it for Rory not for you." _Why did I say that? She's just starting to not hate me. Wait, why do I care if she hates me or not? I don't._ Luke tried to reassure himself.

"Oh," Lorelai whispered, a little disappointed. _Why am I so disappointed? Just yesterday, I hated Luke's guts, so why do I care so much now? I don't._ Lorelai tried to reassure herself. "Well, that's all I wanted. Thanks again." Lorelai said, standing up to leave.

"You're welcome, again." Luke said, standing up right after her. "I guess you want breakfast now?"

"Yeah, I'm starved," Lorelai said as she walked towards the door. She wasn't looking down, but on the ground right in front of her was one of Luke's flannels. She tripped over it and went hurtling towards the floor, when Luke tried to stop her fall. However, he couldn't stop her, but fell right along with her and landed on top, his face inches from hers.

He didn't know why, but instead of rolling off of her the second they hit the ground, he just lay there, looking into her eyes. He had never noticed how blue they were before then. He almost felt the urge to do something rash while he was lost in to abyss of her eyes.

She didn't know why, but instead of pushing Luke off of her the second they had both hit the ground, she just lay there with her hand on his chest, staring into his eyes. She had never noticed how comforting they were before then. She almost felt the urge to do something rash, when-

"Luke?" –her better sense of things got control of her.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you still on top of me?"

"Oh, sorry." He stood up quickly and led her downstairs to serve her breakfast. The rest of the morning went on normally, with the events of earlier put behind them.


	6. Kindness

Lorelai sat in her living room, staring at the ceiling. A couple weeks had gone by, and all Lorelai could think about was Luke. She had no idea why, but she just couldn't get him off of her mind. Those eyes, she thought. There was something about those eyes. They seemed different from anything she'd even seen before. Sure, at first glance, they just looked like normal blue eyes. But once you gave them a chance and really looked into them, you could see so much more. There was caring, comfort, and closure. _Three C's_, she thought. _You can't deny alliteration, the most powerful of all literary tools_, as her daughter had just informed her the day before. This was it. She had some thinking she had to do.

Lorelai snapped out of her daze when her daughter walked in carrying her Halloween costume, a pretty pink fairy costume. Halloween was the next day.

"Mom, the wing ripped off."

"Her, hand it over. I'll fix it in a flash."

"Thanks."

"So, are you excited about tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We're taking Lane with us, too, right?"

"Sure, but can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"How in the world did she convince her mother to let her come?"

"Well, she reminded her that it's really the eve of All Saints Day that we're celebrating, not the fact that all we have to do to get free candy is knock on people's doors and scream in their faces. And she has to dress as her patron saint."

"I see. She gets to keep the candy?"

"No."

"What's she gonna do with it?" Lorelai said, anticipating the answer she knew was coming.

"It's supposed to go in the trash, but it'll really be hidden safely inside the crap shack."

"Yay!"

"Mom, it's still Lane's, no matter where it is."

"Fine, I won't steal any of it. Does she eat her peanut butter cups?"

"Yes, Mom, she does."

"Fine," Lorelai huffed. She finished fixing Rory's costume and watched her bounce off back to her room to try it on again. Her mind immediately shifted back to Luke. _Oy, this is going to kill me_, she thought. _Ha, oy. That's a pretty funny word._

Halloween came, and Lorelai had been walking with Rory and Lane for over an hour, in her high heels. _These shoes were not a good idea_, she thought. Their last stop was Luke's. They walked in and Lorelai threw herself onto the nearest chair she could find.

Luke heard the bells jingle and immediately looked up. He was happy when he saw it was Lorelai. He had been thinking about her a lot lately.

"Finished already? You still have another… 45 minutes to go," Luke said, looking at his watch.

"We're pretty pooped," Lorelai replied in a huff.

"Speak for yourself, Mom. Lane and I could go all night. Mom wore the wrong shoes," Rory said to Luke.

Luke couldn't help but laugh. "Coffee?" he asked, out of pity.

"You're offering?"

"You look like you need it."

"Gee, Luke, you really know the way to a girl's heart."

"I'm just saying, you look like you could use a little pick-me-up."

"You could say that again."

"Mom, can Lane and I go back to her house?"

"Sure, have fun. Leave you candy here so Mama Kim doesn't get it."

"Ok, but no stealing it."

"You can trust me."

"Sure we can, bye!" and they were out the door and on their way.

Luke and Lorelai sat together in a comfortable silence for about 5 minutes before Lorelai piped up and said something.

"So, how's it goin'?" _Couldn't I have though of anything better to say?_

"Uh, good I guess." Luke said, a little amused at her random question. "How about you?"

"Good, good."

"That's… good."

"Yeah."

"Well, I kinda need to close up now."

"Oh, right. I'll just go then." Lorelai said, a little disappointed that she had to leave. She reluctantly got up from her chair and started towards the door.

"You know," Luke said suddenly aware of the fact that he didn't want her to leave just as much as she didn't want to go, "you could stay for awhile if you wanted to."

"Oh?" Lorelai said, a little too excited at the prospect of staying for awhile. "That'd be nice. I'll even help you wipe down the tables."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to." She grabbed a rag from behind the counter and started cleaning each table top. "Do you wipe off the chairs, too?"

"Yeah," Luke said, chuckling. He was amused that this woman would actually offer to clean. "Anything new?" he said, trying to start a conversation.

"No, not really. Apart from Rory's 17 new books that are beginning to take over her room, nothing's new."

"Ha, I don't understand how a little girl can love to read as much as she does."

"She's amazing, isn't she?"

"She's more than amazing. That's a great kid you've got, you know that?"

"Thanks, Luke. That's really sweet."

"No problem… If you wanted, I could put a bookcase together for Rory."

"Thanks, but I don't think we have the money to buy one."

"You don't need the money. I've got a bunch of wood left over from when I made shelves for the storeroom. I could put one together, no problem."

"You'd really do that?"

"Of course. How about I come over tomorrow?"

"Sure, that sounds good… Well, I'm finished cleaning up."

"Thanks, Lorelai."

"Oh, it was no problem… I should really be going now. Rory's probably exhausted," Lorelai said, mid yawn.

"Rory's tired? If she is, I think that goes both ways."

"Yeah, well, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely. Bye."

"Bye, Luke."

Lorelai picked Rory up from Lane's house, and they walked home. The whole way, she marveled at the kindness Luke was showing to her, even after the torment she subjected him to after all those months. She didn't know why, but she couldn't wait to see him tomorrow.


	7. Embarassment

The next day, Luke showed up at Lorelai's house at 8 in the morning. He knocked on the door, not even thinking she might still be asleep.

"I better like you a whole lot for you to be knockin' on my door at 8 freakin o'clock in the morning!" Lorelai said, as she walked down the stairs, not exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Luke couldn't help but laugh, even though he felt a little bad now for waking her up. "Hey, Lorelai," he said as she opened the door to him.

"Oh, Hi, Luke. I didn't expect to see you this early."

"I heard."

"Oh, sorry about that," Lorelai said, a little embarrassed at what she had said before. They stood there in silence for a little bit. She couldn't help but get butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him anymore. The butterflies grew even bigger this time, because Luke was right in front of her, at her house. She'd never had a man at her house before.

After what seemed like an eternity of being lost in each other's eyes, Luke spoke up. "So, uh, can I come in and, uh, measure Rory's room so I know how big to make it?"

"Oh, she's still asleep. But, I was just about to make some breakfast if you wanted to have some and wait 'til she wakes up."

"Sure, that'd be nice." Luke followed Lorelai into the kitchen. "What're we having?"

"Well, the stove is broken, so nothing cooked, and even if it wasn't broken, I wouldn't know how to use it anyway. I've got donuts, and poptarts, and Frosted Flakes. That's about it," Lorelai said, a little embarrassed at the sparse cupboard she opened up to him.

"Frosted Flakes would be great, thanks," Luke said. He didn't really like Frosted Flakes, or anything else she had, but he didn't want to embarrass her even more than she already was by saying he didn't like anything she had offered.

Lorelai quickly pulled out two bowls and poured one, realizing that's all she had enough for. Lorelai sat the box down on the counter, sighed, and blushed. "Oh, that's ok. I can just have a donut," Luke said, realizing this wasn't turning out to be the best morning for Lorelai.

"No, no. You can have this. The donuts are kinda old. I'll have a poptart. I like them more anyway." Lorelai put Luke's bowl of cereal in front of him, and pulled out a poptart and popped it in the toaster. Five seconds went by, and it popped back out at her, burnt to a crisp.

"Wow, that was fast," Luke said in amazement.

"Yeah, the toaster gets a little too hot. I don't know what's wrong with it."

"You could just turn this little knob down, and that should do the trick."

"Oh, thanks. Kitchen appliances have never been my specialty," Lorelai said, once again embarrassed. _What is wrong with me today?_ She thought. _I can't do or say anything right. Luke is being so nice. He's perfect. Whoa, when did I start thinking that?_ Lorelai's mind began to race as she sat across from Luke and ate her breakfast at the kitchen table.

Just then, Rory walked out of her room, and gasped at what she saw. "Oh, hi Luke. What're you doing here?"

"That was a little rude, don't you think?" Lorelai said, with mock discipline. "Luke's here to make you a bookcase for all your millions of books."

"Oh, thanks, Luke."

"What do you want for breakfast, babe? We've got old donuts and poptarts," Lorelai said, a little relieved to have a buffer there with her. She was abnormally shy when she was alone with Luke.

"I'll have poptarts, thanks."

"I guess I'll just go measure," Luke said, as he placed his bowl and spoon politely in the sink.

"Yeah, sure, lemme just show you where we want it. Do you think you can handle putting them in the toaster, Rory?"

"I'm pretty sure I can swing it."

Luke followed Lorelai into Rory's room. "I'm pretty sure we want it right here," she said, as she pointed to a spot next to the door. _There they are again. _She thought. _Those eyes. I can't get enough of those eyes. _They were standing a little closer than normally approved for platonic friends. They could both feel the heat between them.

_There they are again._ Luke thought_. Those eyes. I can't get enough of those eyes_. He began to lean a little closer to her, even closer than they already were. This made Lorelai start to panic. This was the first time she had ever had a man in her house, and now she was going to kiss him? No. That wouldn't work. But reality got thrown out the door as she got lost in his eyes. They were so close, and then…

"Mom, something's wrong with the toaster." They jumped back from each other quickly. _Damn. So close._ Luke thought. He wanted to kiss her so bad.

"Nothing's wrong with it. Luke fixed it."

"Oh. Nevermind, then," Rory said, as she bounced back into the kitchen.

"So, I guess I'll just get started," Luke said, the moment now lost.

"Right. I'll just help Rory with breakfast."

With that, they both went their separate ways, only bumping into each other a few more times.

That afternoon, Luke was almost finished when he bumped into Lorelai again. "I have to get back to the diner before the dinner rush, but I'll be back at about 7 to finish up."

"Ok, thanks. Take your time."

"I could bring back some dinner if you want me to."

"Sure, that would be great."

"Any requests?"

"No, nothing too specific. Just, don't forget the apple pie."

"I won't," Luke said with a chuckle, and he walked off, dinerbound.


	8. Perfection

Lorelai was sitting on the couch with Rory fast asleep on her lap, watching Willy Wonka. Rory normally wouldn't be asleep so soon, but it had been a long day for both of them. It was about 7:30 when the movie finished, and Lorelai carefully carried Rory to her room and tucked her in.

"G'night, sweets," she said and she pulled the covers up over her.

"Night, mom," Rory said through sleepy eyes.

As soon as Lorelai walked out of Rory's room and she quietly shut the door behind her, the phone rang. She walked over to the phone, wondering who would be calling her.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lor," came the response from the other end.

_This can only be one person_, she thought. "Hey, Chris. What's up? Are you still coming this weekend to spend time with Rory?"

"Well, about that-" Christopher said. This seemed all too familiar to Lorelai. _He cannot be doing this again!_ She thought. _He hasn't seen her all year!_

"What, Chris?" Lorelai said harshly.

"Something came up."

"No, Chris. This is bull! It's November and you haven't seen your daughter all year! You've already cancelled 4 times! I can't believe you!"

"I know, I'm sorry," Christopher pleaded.

"Sorry's not good enough this time. You tell Rory yourself this time. I'm not breaking her heart again. I can't handle that this time. Here she is." Lorelai was so angry with Christopher, she went in and woke Rory up to make him tell her himself.

"What's going on?" Rory asked as her mother handed her the phone.

"It's your dad. He wants to talk to you."

"Hey, Dad!" Rory said excitedly.

"Hey, kiddo. I have something I need to tell you."

Rory sighed. She knew what was coming next. "You're not coming, are you?"

"No. I'm so sorry. Something just came up. I really wish I could come, I really do."

"I know, Dad. Bye." Rory hung up the phone before her Dad could say anything else.

Lorelai was almost in tears as she watched their whole exchange. Rory lay back down and closed her eyes, blinking away a few of her own tears. Lorelai took the phone back, kissed Rory on the head, and left her to sleep again.

As she was walking past the front door, she heard something outside. Bye now, she was crying freely. She couldn't believe Christopher. She opened the door slightly to see what was going on. She saw Luke working tediously on the bookshelf again. Luke caught sight of her.

"Hey," he said. "I brought dinner, like I promised. I wasn't sure if you still wanted it."

Great. Now he's gonna see that I've been crying. Just what I need, she thought. She discretely wiped away her tears and walked out to receive her food.

"Thanks, Luke."

"Are you okay?" He said, seeing her tear stained cheeks and red eyes.

"I'm fine. Really. It's nothing."

"What's wrong?"

They walked over to the front porch and sat on the stairs. He didn't know what came over him, but he put his arm around her to comfort her.

Once his arm was safely around her, the tears started flowing freely again. She didn't know why she felt so safe in Luke's arms, but it felt right.

"Christopher called," she said between sobs.

"Who's Christopher?"

"Rory's dad. He was supposed to come visit her for her birthday, even though that was weeks ago. He actually supposed to come weeks ago. He promised her five times already, and he's backed out five times."

"Oh."

"You should've seen her face, Luke. It was heartbreaking. I hate telling her when he backs out. She's just a kid. She shouldn't have to deal with his shit. That should just be me." She buried her head in Luke's chest and cried hard.

"Shh… It's okay. It'll be okay." Luke didn't know how to comfort her, so he did the best he knew how.

They sat like this for five more minutes, when Lorelai's cries finally let up. She looked up at him and said, "Thanks, Luke."

"No problem."

"But, I got your shirt all wet," she said with a little chuckle.

"It'll dry," Luke said through a laugh.

Lorelai laughed along with him. "Ya know, you are a really great friend."

"Yeah, a friend," Luke whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"Me? No. Nothing."

"Oh."

They still sat together in silence, with Luke's arm still wrapped around her. Lorelai felt so warm in his embrace. She looked up into his eyes. _There they are. I love his eyes. I can't get enough of them. I love them… I love him._

Luke felt right as he held Lorelai close to him. He looked down into her eyes. _There they are. I love her eyes. I can't get enough of them. I love them… I love her._

They were both lost in each other's eyes. Nothing could tear their gazes away from each other. They started leaning in closer to each other. The heat between the, became so obvious, it was almost unbearable. Neither one of them could stand not being together any longer. Their lips crashed together and they got lost in the moment. Lorelai shifted herself more to face him. This felt so perfect to both of them. The kiss deepened.

In that moment, it seemed as if the world stopped spinning just for them.


	9. Comfort

_They were both lost in each other's eyes. Nothing could tear their gazes away from each other. They started leaning in closer to each other. The heat between them became so obvious, it was almost unbearable. Neither one of them could stand not being together any longer. Their lips crashed together and they got lost in the moment. Lorelai shifted herself more to face him. This felt so perfect to both of them. The kiss deepened. _

_In that moment, it seemed as if the world stopped spinning just for them._

As she was kissing Luke, Lorelai began to get scared. She had so many thoughts running through her mind all at once. She didn't know how to handle them. All of a sudden, she broke the kiss, stood up, and said, "I can't do this."

"Can't do what?"

Lorelai began pacing across the porch. "This. I can't do this… I think you should go."

"But-"

"Please, just go."

Luke stood up and walked away, feeling defeated. He didn't know what he did wrong. All the way home, he felt to bigger than 3 inches tall.

As Lorelai watched him walk away with his head hanging low, the tears began falling down her face again. She found herself wishing he was right back with her so he could hold her while she cried again. She walked upstairs, and cried herself to sleep.

At 5:30, Lorelai woke up in a cold sweat. She had been doing that all through the night. She kept having frightening nightmares that wouldn't allow her to get more than 10 minutes of sleep at a time. She gave up trying to get back to sleep, and went downstairs for a cup of coffee.

She tried her best to make herself breakfast as quietly as possible, so she wouldn't wake Rory up. She put a cherry poptart in the toaster, and prepared herself for it to come popping right back up at her. When it didn't, she couldn't help but remember that morning when Luke had fixed it for her. _Had that really just been yesterday?_ She thought. _He was so nice and respectful of everything. He didn't care that I don't live the high life. He is such a great guy. So why did I get so scared last night? _Her poptart popped itself up, making Lorelai jump out of her deep thought. She took her coffee and breakfast into the living room, and ate in silence, jut staring off into space, and thinking.

Lorelai finished her breakfast, and continued to sit alone in the living room for awhile. At 7, Rory came running into the living room, crying.

"What's wrong, sweets?"

"I hate Dad." She said, as she sat next to her mother.

"Aw, no you don't. You're just angry that he's not coming," She tried to comfort her, wrapping her arm tightly around her daughter and holding her close.

"No, I really do. Why doesn't he like me? What did I do wrong?" Rory said, through tears.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Lorelai said, rubbing her hand up and down Rory's arm. "Your dad just has a lot of growing up to do yet. In the mean time, we're doing just fine. You and me. That's all we need, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now, it's time to get ready for school. Today's science fair day, remember? You were looking forward to this."

"Yeah, ok. You didn't eat the last of the poptarts, did you?"

"Nope. I saved the last one for you."

"Thanks."

After Rory went off to school, Lorelai couldn't stop thinking about the events of that morning_. Screw Chris for doing this to her. She's just a little kid. She doesn't deserve this. _She really hoped Rory was having a little bit better day now that she was at the science fair. She always looked forward to things like that. She'd be damned if she let Chris ruin that for her, too.

Then, Lorelai spotted the empty Frosted Flakes box that she had yet to throw away from the morning before. Her thoughts went straight back to Luke. She remembered how he comforted her last night, just as she had done for Rory not an hour earlier. She really wished she had someone in her life that could do that for her whenever she needed them to. So why had she run away from Luke like that? She couldn't figure it out.

She walked out to the front yard to look at the newly completed bookshelf. It was perfect. It was tall, perfect for all the books Rory had now, but it would still have extra room for books to come. She walked around it, and noticed that on the side, Luke had panted small, delicate little flowers that matched the ones on her bedspread perfectly. _Luke has a feminine side_, she thought. She smiled at how thoughtful he was. She walked around to the back of the shelf, and noticed he had signed it.

_To: Rory Love: Luke_

"_Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."_

_-Twelfth Night, Shakespeare_

Lorelai couldn't help but smile again. What he had written was so cheesy, but so sweet at the same time. She loved how Luke believed in Rory so much. He was just like a father to her. He promised her danishes when he couldn't make it to her birthday party, made her birthday cakes, and book shelves.

As her fingers traced over the words that Luke had so lovingly write, she couldn't figure out what happened the night before. But then it hit her.

She was afraid.

But now, she was sick of being afraid. Sick and tired of always turning her back and running away when things got complicated.

So she ran. She ran as fast as she could.

But this time, instead of running away from what she was afraid of, she ran towards it. She tore through the streets as fast as she could. She ignored all the strange glances she received from other people on the streets as she stumbled over a few twigs. She fell on the sidewalk, but instead of giving up, and staying on the ground in defeat, she got right back up and kept on running.

She swung the diner door open as fast as she could, and ran behind the counter where he stood, ignoring the huge breakfast crowd.

And she kissed him.

She threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him as hard as she could.

He was startled at first, ready to yell at her for being behind the counter. Then, he was confused. Why was she kissing him in a room full of people?

But then, he gave in and kissed back. The woman he loved was back in his arms again.

"Luke, I-"

"No, don't apologize."

"I wasn't going to."

"Oh. Sorry. Go on," he said with a giggle.

"I love you." And she kissed him again, this time harder than the first.

Luke broke away and said "I love you too."

They both stood there in each other's embrace, kissing as if the rest of the diner crowd, including Miss Patty and Babette, didn't exist.

In that moment, it seemed as if the world stopped spinning just for them… again.

The End.


End file.
